FirstRoot - Building Financial Literacy and Civics through PB in Schools!

FirstRoot has built the world’s first platform for Participatory Budgeting in Schools.

FirstRoot is a Benefit Corp that supports schools using Participatory Budgeting (PB for short), a democratic process in which students are given real money to collaboratively invest in their school.

Endorsed by the United Nations, Participatory Budgeting is used by thousands of schools around the world to teach financial literacy, civics, and design thinking.

Our Solutions

The Challenge?

Traditional, in-person PB programs can be complex, tedious, expensive, and error-prone.

The Solution

FirstRoot has built the world’s first solution for PB in schools! Our platform and integrated curriculum makes implementing PB easy and cost-effective.

Our Platform

FirstRoot empowers students to make real change with real money.

A typical PB program is managed by a teacher, with funding of $2,000 to $10,000 provided by the Principal, the PTA, or a corporate/non-profit organization as a sponsor.

As the students decide how to invest the money they learn important lessons about financial literacy, design thinking, and civics.

It is a lot of fun and the students make surprisingly good choices. FirstRoot supports teachers with an integrated curriculum that helps students learn important personal finance concepts, such as creating a budget, saving for college, and understanding their first paycheck.

PB in Schools

Why do PB in Schools?

Participatory Budgeting is democracy in action

Gives a positive civic engagement experience

Brings students closer to their community

Strengthens relationships between students

Students get involved and see their ideas get done

Gets parents and the community involved

Through PB, students will…

Collaborate with students, leaders & teachers

Develop financial literacy skills by funding real projects

Develop research skills in order to validate proposals

Develop design-thinking and critical thinking skills

Increase awareness of what the community needs

Develop a sense of social responsibility and growth

Frequently Asked Questions

Student testimonials

We’re very excited to share some amazing quotes from students who have been a part of a PB in school!

I liked how easy it was to use the app and how everything was pretty easy to understand”.

STUDENT AT ACADEMY OF AMERICAN STUDIES, NYC

I really liked how organized it was– the different categories when creating proposals as well as how easy voting on the final stage was”

STUDENT AT ACADEMY OF AMERICAN STUDIES, NYC

I really liked how you could follow the pathway and see everyone’s ideas as they were added”

STUDENT AT FREMONT HIGH SCHOOL, CA

It was good experience to practice budgeting while complying with and thinking about others rather than just yourself, which is a necessary skill for adulthood which is why I think it’s good for students of all ages to practice”

STUDENT AT FREMONT HIGH SCHOOL, CA